


A Banquet to Remember

by Patch444



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Dinner Party, F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-09 00:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12876183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patch444/pseuds/Patch444
Summary: Why, he thought, why did I agree to this?!? He briefly glanced over at Sakura, whose amber eyes stared back into his with utmost concern, her perfectly-maintained, cherry-blossom hair practically shimmering in the candlelight of the room’s many chandeliers.Oh, yeah, that’s why.(HayatoxSakura One-Shot)





	A Banquet to Remember

            Hayato vehemently yanked at his collar for the umpteenth time in a vain attempt at providing the sweltering cesspool his upper body had become with _some_ form of ventilation. The action drew looks from the Nohrian commonwealth sitting near him at the table, and he paused mid-tug as he felt their collective gazes fall upon him.

            As the heat rose in his cheeks, Hayato glanced to his right to see Sakura, whom he was sitting adjacent to, staring at him with a concerned look in her eyes. Across from them sat the Nohrian Prince Leo, and his younger sister, Elise, the former of whom eyed the young diviner of the Wind Tribe coldly, whereas the latter kept glancing around the room with a smile on her face, seemingly oblivious.

            Hayato let go of his collar, and lowered his gaze in embarrassment. He was completely out of his element. He knew it, Sakura knew it, everyone around them knew it, and the crown prince sitting across from him _definitely_ knew it, if his expression was any indication.

            Hayato folded his arms in his lap. He couldn’t help it. When Sakura had invited him to accompany her to some highfalutin banquet in Nohr as her guest, he thought he knew what to expect; weird food, weird people, etc. What he _hadn’t_ expected was to be immediately dragged away from his companion upon arrival by some random butler, forced into some constrictive torture device that _somehow_ passed as formalwear in this backwards country, and then thrust into some room with a bunch of pompous, blue-blooded aristocrats, all of whom, it seemed, were hellbent on making him feel as self-conscious as possible.

            Hayato raised his gaze slightly toward the Nohrian prince, whose judgmental gaze hadn’t wavered from him since he’d sat down. Hayato tried to convince himself that Leo’s abrasive behavior towards him wasn’t personal, that it had nothing to do with the fact that apparently _he’d_ been the one to invite Sakura to this event in the first place, and that the fact that he hadn’t counted on her bringing a guest, and the fact that accommodating him had proved utterly inconvenient for everyone involved.

            And the fact that the suit Hayato was currently pitting-out had once belonged to him.

            Yeah. Nothing personal.

            Hayato fought the urge to let out an exasperated groan. _Why_ , he thought, _why did I agree to this?!?_ He briefly glanced over at Sakura, whose amber eyes stared back into his with utmost concern, her perfectly-maintained, cherry-blossom hair practically shimmering in the candlelight of the room’s many chandeliers.

            _Oh, yeah_ , _that’s why._

            Hayato flinched as a small bowl of what appeared to be a light soup of sorts was placed in front of him by a servant. Around him, several bowls containing the same steamy liquid were placed in front of the other guests, all of whom immediately ceased whatever discussion there having, folded their napkins, gingerly picked up the provided eating utensils (“silverware” they called it) and dug in.

            Hayato’s gaze shifted back to the Nohrian royals. Elise was spooning huge mouthfuls of soup into her mouth, sticking her tongue out every now and then to catch any rogue droplets that dribbled down her chin. Her sibling, on the other hand, had not even touched his spoon. Instead, he remained rigid, keeping his condescending gaze locked on Hayato. Unsure how to respond, the young diviner merely stared back. Sakura’s eyes fluttered between the two of them, nervously.

            After a moment, Leo folded his arms, and threw a quick glance at Hayato’s silverware before returning his gaze to the boy.

            _Go on_ , he seemed to say, _surprise me_.

            Hayato furrowed his brow at him. Who the hell did this self-righteous, Nohrian prince think he was, calling him out like this? With all the indignation he could muster, Hayato plucked his spoon off the table, and gingerly dipped it in the bowl, being especially careful not to spill a single drop of soup as he fished it out.

            He then threw a taunting grin Leo’s way.

            _Who’s laughing now, “your majesty,”_ he seemed to say.

            Leo remained stoic.

            Sakura facepalmed.

            Elise simply smiled.

            Still grinning, Hayato brought the spoon to his lips, and took a sip.

            _Sluuuuuuuuuuuurp._

Hayato’s eyes grew wide, and he froze in place. Slowly, he shifted his gaze toward Sakura. She was staring at him in stunned silence, as was _literally everybody else at the table_. Hayato could feel the eyes of over fifty Nohrian nobles boring into him, and he nearly shuddered before realizing that there was still some soup in his spoon left.

            Maybe if he was really careful-

            _Sluuuuuurp!_

Nope, no dice.

            Hayato felt his ears go red. He set his spoon down, and looked across the table. Leo’s expression _still_ hadn’t changed. Elise, however, appeared as if she were doing everything in her power to stifle a mad giggle.

            Hayato glanced toward Sakura, and drew in a sharp breath.

            She was frowning. Like, _really_ frowning. Directly at _him_. Her entire figure was trembling. Her hairband wobbled slightly from side to side as she shook.

            _Welp_ , Hayato thought as he felt his brow begin to bead with sweat, _I’ve had a good run_.

            Suddenly, without changing her expression, Sakura faced forward, reached out, and brought her hand down on her own spoon with a loud _slam_! She quickly grasped it, dipped it in her soup with an audible _clink_ , brought it to her lips, and-

            _SLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRP!!!_

            Still trembling, Sakura turned toward the congregation, extended her arm out over the table, and dropped her spoon. It clanged loudly against the tabletop.

            The room was utterly and completely silent.

            All eyes were on the Hoshidan princess. Even the servants had stopped what they were doing to gawk, stunned by her bold display. Sakura met their collective gazes with a frown, _daring_ them to say something.

            After a moment, several of the guests shrugged, and returned to eating. The rest soon followed. As soon as their attention was diverted elsewhere, Sakura’s frown vanished. She let out a deep sigh of relief, and slowly turned toward Hayato with a shy smile on her face, blushing slightly.

            Hayato stared back at her, dumbfounded.

            He then heard a muffled giggle, and looked across the table. Elise was covering her mouth in a vain attempt at hiding her laughter as she practically doubled over in her chair. Leo stared stoically for a moment, then the faint outline of a smile began to creep across his face, and he let out an amused chuckle.

            Hayato smiled at them, then blinked as he suddenly felt Sakura’s smooth fingers weave their way into his underneath the table. He looked at her. She was staring at Elise, smiling as the latter struggled (and ultimately failed) to contain her laughter.

            Hayato beamed, and gave Sakura’s hand a light squeeze.

            _Thanks_.

            Her thumb gently caressed his palm.

            _Y-You’re welcome._


End file.
